VARIOUS KINDS OF FLOWERS. ^33 



seeds ; Carduus, t. 1112, hairy ; AtUhemis, t. 602, 

 scaly ; and Onopordumy t. 977, cellular like a 

 honey-comb, J^. 209. On this and the seed-down 

 are founded the most solid generic characters of 

 these plants, admirably illustrated by the inimitable 

 Geertner. 



The term Receptacle is sometimes extended by 

 Linnaeus to express the base of a flower, or even its 

 internal part between the stamens and pistils, pro- 

 vided there be any thing remarkable in such parts, 

 without reference to the foundation of the whole 

 fructification. It also expresses the part to which 

 the seeds are attached in a seed-vessel, and the 

 common stalk of a spike, orspikelet, in grasses. 



Having thus explained the various organs of fructi- 

 fication, we shall add afev; remarks concerning flowers 

 in general, reserving the functions of the Stamens and 

 Pistils, with the Linnaean experiments and inquiries 

 relative to that curious subject, for the next chapter. 



A flower furnished with both calyx and corolla is 

 called JIos completus, a complete flower ; when the 

 latter is wanting, incompletus; and when the corolla 

 is present without the calyx, niidus^ naked. When the 

 stamens and pistils are both, as usual, in one flower, 

 that flower is called perfect, or united ; when they are 

 situated in diflerent flowers of the same species, such I 

 would call separated flowers ; that which has the 



